High Efficiency Speakers Your top 3 or more

In my extensive email conversations with Lou during a period when I was seriously considering auditioning his speakers, he voiced a consistent theme that low power tube amps were not the best match for his speakers despite their 97dB sensitivity. In fact, the suitability of my 60wpc Pass Labs XA-60.5 was questioned.

At RMAF 2009, in both the Daedalus and Modwright rooms, the Daedalus speakers were driven with Modwright solid state amps, and I have to assume this was to show the speakers at their best. I have yet to hear them demo'ed with tube amplification of any kind, nor have I read any account of an owner pairing them on a permanent basis with low power tube amlplification.

From their website:

U.S.A. Direct Price $10,950
Drivers; High Frequency (X2) 1" Eton Dome tweeters
Drivers; Mid-range (X2) 5" custom modified Fostex full range loudspeaker
Drivers; Low Frequency (X2) 8" Daedalus Audio Dynamic Loudspeaker
Frequency Response 28 to 25kHZ +/- 1.5db (-3db 25HZ)
Sensitivity 97 db 1w/1m
Continuous Power Rating 400 watts RMS (800+ watts peak)
recommended power 8- 1000 watts
Impedance 6 ohms
Tweeter Switch flat, -1db, +1db

It seems they should work. Maybe we can get an update after Almarg's arrive?

Maybe we can get an update after Almarg's arrive?

Yes, I should have them in about 3 or 4 weeks, at which time I plan to post a system description with pics, and perhaps my initial listening impressions in this thread as well (although it will take some time after they arrive until they are reasonably broken in).

Initially I'll be driving them with a fairly inexpensive, seemingly well built, and apparently no longer available Chinese-made amp called a Paxthon VTA-160, which uses 8 x EL34 (4/channel), 2 x 12AX7 and 2 x 12AU7, delivering 80 watts/channel. It's actually a simple integrated amp, with source selection and volume control, but I'm using it just as a power amp, driven by a Classe CP-60 preamp. I've re-tubed it with a matched octet of SED Wing'd C EL34's, and vintage NOS Telefunken and RCA small signal tubes.

In the meantime, you can search the discussion forums and the review section here under "Daedalus," and also read the reviews that are linked to from the Daedalus site. They rarely appear for sale used, btw -- there was only one pair of Ulysses for sale at Audiogon in the last year or so, as far as I am aware.

Regards,
-- Al

I see on the Daedalus Audio website that Art Audio is an owner of Daedalus Audio speakers, and that Daedalus Audio is an Art Audio dealer. That bodes well.

It's certainly a combination I'd have liked to hear at RMAF 2009.

Almarg, did you hear the Ulysses speakers before you purchased them? If so, what amps were driving them?

FWIW, there is a link to this paper on the Daedalus website.

If you read the article and follow the steps, the results indicate a required minimum power for the Ulysses speakers of just below 50wpc up to 100wpc depending on the dynamic headroom you select as being important to you. The <50wpc figure assumes desired peaks of 105dB, and the 100wpc assumes desired peaks of 110dB.

The specifics of arriving at the figures are explained in the article. If you try the exercise, be certain to adjust for sound attenuation over distance as described under the heading titled "Loudspeaker Sensitivity".